


take me home ('cause i have nowhere else to go)

by georgiehensley



Category: Jersey Boys - Gaudio/Crewe/Brickman/Elice
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, Drunkenness, Hangover, Love Confessions, M/M, Pre-Slash, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-10
Updated: 2016-05-10
Packaged: 2018-06-07 15:51:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6811885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/georgiehensley/pseuds/georgiehensley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Or, the one where Tommy gets kicked out of his house so he decides to go out and get drunk, and Nick's a bartender who might have a place for him to stay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	take me home ('cause i have nowhere else to go)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hellagayboxers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hellagayboxers/gifts).



> In other words, a continuation of the Bartender/Regular AU that's included in my Jersey Boys ficlet collection. @hellagayboxers originally requested the prompt and wanted more, so I decided to write more.

Taking a drunken man out of a bar ends up being more of a challenge than Nick expected. Tommy’s hardly able to hold himself up, basically forcing Nick to have to carry his entire body weight from the bar to his apartment. Luckily, it’s only a few blocks away, but quickly those blocks begin to feel like miles to Nick.

Once the two are finally inside the apartment (which Nick also had some trouble with as he struggled to grab his keys out of his pocket whilst still keeping Tommy standing - or leaning, really - upright), Nick’s quick to pull Tommy towards the bedroom before letting him down on the bed. He does so gently, despite how tired and annoyed he is, because he is a nice guy after all. He even feels so bad about the guy’s predicament that he kneels to take off his shoes before helping slide him up on the mattress so that his head’s propped up by the pillows.

“Stay,” Tommy says - begs, really - just as Nick reaches the doorway to the bedroom. For a moment, he thinks Tommy might not realize who he’s speaking to, still in the mindset that he’s at home with his wi– _ex_  wife. But then Tommy softly adds, “Please, Nick,” and the other man realizes that Tommy might not be as drunk as he thought. (Or, maybe he’s just that desperate for some company that he’s willing to share a bed with a bartender, who, despite the pair knowing each other’s names, is still mostly a stranger to him.)

With a sigh, Nick agrees to Tommy’s request, slipping into his own bathroom to get ready for bed, going through his nightly routine and throwing on a pair of pajamas. Normally, he’d sleep in an undershirt and boxers, but since he’s not alone tonight, he figures he’ll cover up a bit.

When he leaves the bathroom, placing his discarded clothes into their respective drawers, he glances over to see Tommy curled up beneath the covers, his back facing Nick. For a moment, he smiles at the sight, almost feeling relieved that the other an is finally asleep. (Though, there’s also the fact that he looks kind of adorable when in such a peaceful state, but Nick prefers to keep that thought to himself.)

He momentarily debates whether or not to sleep on the couch as now Tommy won’t know the difference, but the thought makes him feel guilty, so instead he steps over to his bed, peeling back the covers on the other side before climbing in.

~

When he wakes up to a heavy weight on top of his chest, Nick instinctively feels himself panic, the previous night’s events momentarily forgotten. But then the memories all return to him as he takes in the sight of the unruly curly brown hair, and instead he sighs, before mentally questioning why the other man somehow decided in his sleep that Nick would make a better pillow than the ones lying on the bed.

He then realizes that the other man will likely be waking up with a terrible hangover, if his state of drunkenness from the previous night is anything to go by, so he attempts to slip out of bed without waking him. The task proves to be more difficult than he originally thought, as for whatever reason, Tommy’s clinging to him like an octopus, but he somehow manages to do so, slowly but surely peeling the other man off of him, and instead giving him another pillow to clutch in his arms.

Nick then heads towards his kitchen where he grabs a glass and fills it with water, before stepping into the bathroom to grab two aspirin. He places both on top of a tissue on the nightstand, before heading back to the kitchen to go make breakfast.

~

When Tommy wakes up with a pounding headache, lying in an unfamiliar bed, he begins to panic. Half-heartedly, at that, as the pain in his head makes it hard to do anything besides lie down and breathe. With squinty eyes, he glances over to see two asprin and a glass of water left on the nightstand closest to him, and with little thought, he accepts them, swallowing the two pills with several sips of water.

Suddenly, he realizes that he hears the sound of something cooking, the smell of eggs and bacon filling his nose, and his stomach growls. With a sigh, he climbs out of the bed, shuffling towards where he believes the smell is coming from.

When he reaches the kitchen, he stops, his eyes widening despite the still-present pain in his head as he takes in the sight in front of him. Normally, he isn’t one to recognize others from behind - especially in his current state - but being that this torso is so familiar, he’s quick to realize who it is standing over the stove. Though, really, he isn’t quite used to see that torso in the daylight, or in anything other than a black shirt and matching jeans, rather than the gray t-shirt and loose-fitting plaid pants the man is currently wearing.

Hesitantly, Tommy clears his throat, and the other man jumps slightly, before turning and glancing over towards the source of the noise.

“Oh, you’re up.” He says, before turning back towards the stove. “I’m just making some eggs and–”

“Why?” Tommy asks, cutting him off.

“…Why what?”

“Why’d you take me in?” Tommy specifies. “I’m nothing but an alcoholic idiot who can’t even stay in a committed relationship and I really don’t deserve any sympathy ‘cause I got myself into this fucking mess.” Nick sighs.

“Because,” He begins, only to find himself at a loss for words, causing him to sigh a second time, before mumbling something under his breath.

“What was that?”

“Because I like you, okay?” Nick says, louder and more clearly this time, glancing over his shoulder towards Tommy as he speaks, before turning his back on him once again. “There, I said it.”

“You what?” Tommy asks. Nick shuts off the gas on the stove, now turning to face Tommy fully.

“I like you.” He says, crossing his arms over his chest. “I mean, yeah, you’re kind of an idiot, but you’re not that bad. And maybe this has a little bit to do with sympathy, but you’re actually a pretty likable guy. When you’re sober, that is.“ A smirk appears on his face. "And waking up to your head on my chest wasn’t entirely _un_ -enjoyable.” Tommy blushes.

“I did that? Look, I’m sorry if I’m kind of a clingy drunk, but–”

Nick cuts him off with a fond laugh, shaking his head. 

“Relax, I didn’t mind. I mean, it scared me a little, but I really didn’t mind. Honestly, I’ve been feeling kinda lonely lately too, so the company was kind of nice.”

A small smile appears on Tommy’s face now, and he blushes yet again.

“So, what are we now?” He asks. “Acquaintances? Friends?” His blush deepens. “Lovers?” Nick smiles.

“Right now, we’re just two guys eating breakfast together,” He says, turning and grabbing the pan before stepping over towards the table, where two plates are already set out. He continues as he rations out the eggs, “We’ll discuss what we really are sometime later.” Tommy smiles.


End file.
